Reuters (NYSE: TRI) and Thomson issued a joint statement today saying the $17 billion merger deal should receive regulatory clearance early in Q2 this year, a slight delay from the earlier planned mid-of-Q1 clearance. They said that the U.S. Department of Justice, which had been due to announce its decision tomorrow, had agreed to give its decision on the purchase “on or about the date” that the European Commission makes its decision, to align the clearances. The EC decision is due to make its ruling by March 10.

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MarketWatch: Though the [ABN Amro] analysts were optimistic on the prospects of the deal winning regulatory approval, they questioned why investors would want to be bullish on Thomson-Reuters. “Nearly all of Reuters’ revenue and 60% of Thomson-Reuters’ revenue derive from the market data industry. The revenue model has moved away from a simple ‘bums on seats’ subscription model, but Reuters’ destiny is nevertheless closely tied to the fortunes of the banking industry,” they said.